According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a decision on the
listing of the Prebles Meadow Jumping Mouse as an endangered or threatened species
will not be announced on March 25 as expected and may not be determined until mid May
1998. Review of additional information received from public meetings, correspondence,
scientists, and various other sources prevented Service biologists from having the final
package ready for review and comment by the Service Director in time for the March date.

"We will forward our recommendation on the mouse to the
Services Washington office, and as part of the process, they will evaluate our
findings and provide this information to the Director," said Ralph Morgenweck,
Regional Director for the Mountain-Prairie Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

On March 25, 1997, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed the
Prebles Meadow Jumping Mouse to be added to the Federal list of endangered and
threatened species . During the remainder of 1997 and into 1998, the Service held several
public meetings to provide information on the mouse and its habitat and to gather any
additional information that may be known about the species.

In addition, as part of a memorandum of agreement that was signed in
late 1995 by Colorado Governor Roy Romer and Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt to
lay the foundation for a cooperative approach to conserving and managing species at risk
in Colorado, a group of public and private partners has been working together to develop
voluntary conservation efforts to address identified threats to the mouse and begin
recovery efforts.

Service biologists have been reviewing the status of the Prebles
meadow jumping mouse since 1991 when the Service funded a status survey that was completed
in 1993. On February 9, 1996 the Biodiversity Legal Defense Foundation filed a lawsuit
against the Service for failure to list the mouse.